DUE 9/13/2014 @ 6pm - 8pm

This assignment is designed to get you to think about the leadership theories and to consider how an understanding of these theories would help you to function effectively as a leader in a situation where there is cultural conflict.

Please assume that you are the leader of a diverse, multicultural team. The team includes people from different backgrounds, ages, and cultural perspectives. Team members have varying racial, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds. The team includes both men and women, and people who grew up in different locations in the US and in other countries.

Please assume that the team has not been functionally effectively, and that there are many disagreements among the team members that are preventing the team from achieving its work objectives.

Now assume that you have been asked to take on the role of the leader of the team. While you have worked for the organization for a long time, you have not worked with this group before. Review what Northouse has to say about the Trait Approach, the Skills Approach, and the Style Approach to leadership. Think about how this information will help you to address the problems of this team.

>>>>>In your essay, you should describe what you have learned from at least three of these different approaches. You should also describe how these ideas would help you formulate a plan to manage the situation. Your response should be in the form of a four page double-spaced essay, and it should demonstrate through a minimum of two citations (using APA style) that you have read the material included in the readings to date.

>>>Construct a plan to help the team work effectively. Your essay should fully address each of the bullet points below and provide:

• • a description of why it is difficult to lead a group of people who come from different cultures and backgrounds

  • a description of why the role of the leader of a multicultural team is both challenging and important

  • a discussion of three of the different theories (Trait Approach, the Skills Approach, and the Style Approach)

  • a description of how each of the three approaches (Trait Approach, the Skills Approach, and the Style Approach) helps you to understand the role of a leader in addressing the challenge of managing a multicultural team

  • a description of the approach you propose to use to address and improve the situation described in this assignment above

I expect you to include quotations from the text to prove your point or support your ideas, but please do not quote so extensively that you are merely copying the text. The emphasis should be on your understanding of the reading.

As always, grammar and style count. Please proofread carefully. It is important that leaders communicate effectively, and clear writing is an important skill. I will be looking for it here. I will also provide a rubric for you so that you can see how your grade was determined. In this class, I will be asking you for your thinking on how to address leadership issues, and you may use the pronoun “I.”